Friday, December 23, 2011

Annual Friends Party

Rob is very fortunate to have a close group of friends from high school who hang out throughout the year. Once we all moved out on our own we decided to have an annual holiday party and rotate who hosts it each year. This year it was at our home and we hope everyone had a great time!

The gang!
Wesley, Joey, Jacki and Chrissy during dinner
Shaun, Kristen, Katie, Ella Grace and Lauren
Group shot

Ella Grace and Bella enjoying a tea party
Any time we all get together we always have plenty of delicious food, but the dessert spread this year was one for the books!
Joey and Bella
Wesley, Buster and Jacki relaxing

After all that prep work, Buster was tuckered out midway through the party. Thanks to Ella Grace for lending Buster her new Princess sleep mask

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Celebrating December Birthdays

Special shout out to a few December birthdays we celebrated recently:

My great Aunt Jay's 85th Birthday:



My mother-in-law and nephews birthdays:


And my very good friend Lisa and her husband Dave had their first child - little Matthew Alexander - on December 1st.


There were several other birthdays in December but I wasn't able to get photos for them. Happy 25th Birthday to my brother, Dominick, and to my mom who is celebrating her birthday at the end of December. We love you all!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Our Florida Getaway

Things have been hectic lately as we try to prepare for Christmas so I'm going to quickly recap our trip to Florida, which we took back in November.

The main purpose of the trip was to see my good friend Lisa, who was pregnant with her first baby (she just had Matthew on Thursday, Dec. 1). She moved to Florida and that's where they were having the baby shower. Since I wanted to go see her anyway and it was a few weeks before our fourth anniversary, Rob and I took a few extra days for ourselves and had a nice little getaway - our first one alone since we went to Europe back in 2009.

We didn't do anything too exciting the first few days which was perfect since all we wanted to do was have a rest and relaxation trip. We woke up early to a beautiful sunrise from our balcony, hit the gym, ate breakfast and then vegged by the pool or on the beach until it was time for dinner. Since we don't mind walking we explored the area and found some really nice restaurants, including Houstons -- Rob LOVED their ribs and I had a yummy salad.

Although the first few days were very relaxing, we were excited to get our rental car on Thursday and get out of the general area. We hit up Miami Beach druing the day, South Beach at night and also got to visit my great aunt who lives in that area before heading to West Palm Beach for the baby shower. All in all it was a quick trip (aren't they always?) but we came back relaxed and ready to tackle the holidays.

Below are a few photos from the trip:

Sunrise shot

Pretty rainbow on the beach following a brief shower

Daytime view from our balcony

South Beach, Florida sunset

Cool shot in South Beach

Nightlife in South Beach

Friday, December 2, 2011

Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream

These last few years Disney on Ice has come to our area the weekend after Thanksgiving. Although I was not crazy about seeing Elmo at 9am, Rob was able to get tickets to Disney's Dare to Dream on Saturday night, which works much better for me. I'm also a Disney Princess fan so I didn't mind seeing this as much.

The event started off with a performance about "The Princess and the Frog," a movie I was not familiar with -- at all. I perked up with the next skit, "Cinderella," which is one of my all-time favorites, and then they ended with "Tangled," complete with intense acrobatics. In the end, all of the princesses and their prince charmings made an appearance which caused me to act like a five year old yelling out the names of every character as they skated out.

All in all it was a fun show but the next time we go I'm going to have to brush up on the new movies so I know who's being shown.

Cinderella's Carriage looked beautiful all lit up 

The end with all of the characters around the castle

An overview of the set, complete with the floating lights from "Tangled"

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Cuddle Time

We both like to cuddle with Buster but I think I'm a little more gentle than Rob. Here's his idea of cuddling with our precious pooch:


Talk about a headlock!

My First Flat

As a lover of high heels, I wish I could say this post was about my first pair of flat shoes. But alas, it's about my first flat tire, which I got the day before we were supposed to leave for our trip to Florida. Luckily, Rob came to my rescue to put on the donut and drive me to Firestone where they fixed it.


Among his many comments that day, he asked how I didn't know I was riding on a flat. Here's my reasoning:
  1. This was my first flat tire. I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like but I knew something was wrong so I made an appointment at the dealership for the first available appointment - that Saturday 
  2. I don't walk around the car and check my tires
  3. Taking care of the cars is supposed to be Rob's responsibility (I can get away with that one since I have been good about making his favorite foods lately, including rice balls and onion rolls)
  4. We were going on five days with a black-out and getting ready for a trip. I had more on my mind than checking my tires
  5. I clearly need to review my owner's manual. I had a light go on in my car, and naturally I thought it was my check engine light so I called the dealership for an appointment. At least now I know what the tire light is supposed to look like, which is clearly nothing like the check engine light.
I'm chalking this up as a learning experience.

Buster's Birthday Weekend: Fail

I always like to do something special for Buster's birthday, Oct. 29. Among the highlights, I always like to make sure he gets a variety of yummy treats, a special dinner, and most importantly, family time where he is the total center of attention.

This year his 7th birthday fell on a Saturday. It started off with a rabies shot (very bad day for the town to hold this.. didn't they know it was my little boy's birthday?) To top it off, a freak October snowstorm was coming up the east coast and was threatening to dump over a foot of snow in our area. I was bummed because I wanted to take Buster on a long walk by the Delaware Water Gap that day but he enjoyed playing in the fresh snow. As long as he was happy and I was spending time with my bud, that's all that mattered to me. We were just missing "daddy" who was running around for Halloween stuff with our niece and nephew.

Part of the birthday plan was to have a nice steak dinner with Rob and Buster, but unfortunately that idea went down the drain when we lost power at 6pm. In the 4.5 years we've lived in our townhouse, we rarely lost power for an extended period of time but this freak storm decided it was going to knock out power in millions of homes throughout the tri-state area, resulting in us not having heat or power for five long days. There were so many trees down it seriously looked like a hurricane tore apart our neighborhood. Some were even split down the middle from the weight of the snow and leaves. It was also pretty freaky driving through areas and not seeing any lights. It reminded me of the movie "Contagion" where everyone evacuates their homes in the hopes that they can survive.



We toughed it out at home for the first two nights but since the temperatures were dropping and Rob was getting the onset of a stomach bug we called around for a hotel room, where we were able to stay on Monday and Tuesday night. Since I wasn't going to leave my little birthday boy alone all day when I was at work, and then again at night while we were warm in a hotel, we packed him up and brought him along. He was such a good boy! Not one bark or accident for the few hours he was there. I think he was just thrilled to be warm and with us, although by the second day I think he was getting tired of being shoved into a duffle bag and covered with a blanket:

Day 1: Very excited for heat and lights             Day 2: That's one pissed off pup!

After checking JCP&L's website dozens of times throughout the day, keeping in touch with friends in the area, and checking Facbeook constantly to see who was bragging that they got power back on, I was elated when I found out we got our power back late Wednesday night. I swear, I never would have thought I'd be that happy to clean my fridges or my house. All in all, we had to dump a few hundred dollars in food, including the fresh filet migons from Omaha Steaks that I was going to make for Buster's birthday dinner. Luckily, I was able to save some frozen items since a good friend up the street had power and let me store food in her spare freezer.

Hopefully Buster's 8th birthday will be better than his 7th. Sorry, little guy, for your birthday being an epic fail. At least we were all together!
  

Monday, November 28, 2011

Kitchen Time: Homemade Onion Rolls

In my quest to make some of Rob's favorites and challenge myself with some recipes, I made some homemade onion pocket rolls on Sunday. I made the dough from scratch with our Cuisinart Bread Maker.

They came out pretty good!

4 Years Ago..

Thanksgiving wasn't the only thing we celebrated this past Thursday. The 24th also marked our four year wedding anniversary! It's crazy how quickly time flies.

Thanks for four amazing year, Rob! I can't wait for many more to come with you xoxo


My Two Boys

Some photos of my boys over the years.. just because they're cute :)

After Buster's 7th Birthday

Buster's first bath

During the Dorm Days: Rob (with hair) and "baby" Buster

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Homemade Rice Balls.. Coming Right Up!

After Hurricane Irene wiped out areas in New Jersey and caused millions in flood damage, it left us searching for a good Italian deli in the area. We don't order that type of food a lot but it's definitely a treat when we get some of our favorites, including speciality sandwiches, homemade mozzerella and rice balls - which are number one on Rob's list.
Since we didn't have a lot going on last weekend I got ambitious and made the rice balls. Although it wasn't hard to make the rice mixture or the meat mix that goes inside, I will admit actually putting them together was a bit of a challenge. However, once I got in the groove it went well and they came out great!

One of the rice ball trays

One of the many Rob devoured

Thursday, November 17, 2011

'Tis the Season

A few months ago we finally broke down and invested in a Keurig. Rob has wanted one for a while but I held off since I was dreading having another giant contraption in the kitchen and tons of coffee pods filling my pantry. I also have to admit that I really feel the buzz of caffine if I have a cup, which limits me to drinking coffee in the morning - unless I know I need or can be up late at night.

Since I really only drink coffee at work I was very curious to try the flavored pods they have, including the limited edition Pumpkin Spice. I love its great flavor and how it can really give you that autumn "feeling." If you haven't tried it I'd highly reccomend picking up a pod or two.

Now I just need to find a coffee pod that puts you in the holiday spirit. I'm having a hard time believing that next week is Thanksgiving and that soon we'll be putting up our Christmas tree. How are the holidays here already?!



Friday, October 28, 2011

Date Night at Medieval Times

I always give Rob grief about all of the events he goes to after work, especially since he gets home so late on multiple days throughout the week. I was finally able to join him at a recent event hosted by Medieval Times - marking my first visit to this castle plopped in the middle of Lyndhurst.

Although not using utensils took some getting used, it was a pretty cool experience. The horses were my favorite part; they were absolutely magnicifent and performed quite a show. I would have taken pictures of them but due to confidentiality agreements I couldn't use my cell phone. Luckily, the girl sitting next to me really didn't care and was able to snap this shot.

I don't think I'll rush down to one of his work events again but at least this one was entertaining.


Our Leaf Peeping Adventure

I'm not a huge outdoors person but was looking for something to do with Rob where we could be outside and enjoy the foliage. He wasn't crazy about the idea of hiking at the Delaware Water Gap but after some pleading - and threatening that if I went by myself I'd get eaten by a bear - he decided to come along. You can tell in the pictures he wasn't crazy about it, but funny enough by the end he mentioned going the following weekend and bringing Buster to another pet friendly trail (unfortunately, N.J. is supposed to get 6-10 inches of snow this weekend, so we probably won't go).



 The views were beautiful!

There were tons of little streams running down the mountain. I was waiting to see a little deer drinking from the water - like they depict in movies - but didn't come across any.

Stopping along the way for a photo. Doesn't he look SO excited? haha

Rob trudging up the mountain. Wasn't he such a good husband for protecting me from the bears? ;)

We hiked up this side of rocks and then decided to turn around since it would be getting dark soon. It's much scarier trying to get down the mountain, especially with lots of slippery leaves.


Way to go, Joe!

So my little brother is a freshman in high school and decided to join his school's football team. I'm so proud of him and was excited to finally catch one of his games last week. Check it out!





Tuesday, October 11, 2011

My Chubby Wubby

Buster has several nicknames, one of which is Chubby Wubby. I'm not exactly sure how he got it, but I'm guessing it came about when he's fluffy he looks a little chubby.

Either way, we had to take our little Chubby Wubby to the vet on Saturday for his annual exam and shots and found out he lives up to his nickname. My poor little guy gained three pounds this year! And considering he was on the slightly heavier side last year, that's not good. The vet said that based on his body proportions that's the equivalent of us gaining 50 pounds. Ouch!

So effective immediately, Buster is getting barely one treat per day, absolutely no people food, and is getting in more walks per day even if it kills us in the process. I don't think he likes his health kick so much, but considering what a hard time I'm having with him turning 7 and being about midway through his life expectancy, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my little buddy back in shape.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Close to Perfection

Every once in a while you have a weekend that manages to be near perfect and this past weekend was just one of those for me - without even planning for it.

It kicked off on Friday night when my niece slept over. Despite my exhaustion at the end of a long week, we had a pretty entertaining bathtime for her and then Buster got a bath, too. We also managed to play beauty parlor - curlers and all, made a homemade pizza, she tried on almost every pair of shoes in my closet and we watched a Disney movie. I know every kid is special, but my niece continues to surprise me with what comes out of her mouth at only four years old. A perfect example was during our walk when she noticed the landscapers put new plants in this one area. Not only did she notice the minor addition of new plants, but she said "These new plants look beautiful. Fullerton does nice work." I kid you not.

The next morning we enjoyed some cartoons and studied the American Girl doll catalog before going to see Sesame Street Live with Rob's family. It was pretty cute how she wanted me to drive in the car with her and she had to sit next to me at the show. The one downside: I could have lived without the fact that I was up at 6:30 am and the show was in full force by 10am.

For lunch we went to It's Greek to Me, a restaurant Rob and I really enjoy. Then we did a little shopping, which included Rob finally getting his snowboard, and then went to catch my cousin's ice hockey game. We followed that up with a romantic, delicious dinner with just the two of us at the Melting Pot and then went to hang at a friend's house for a few hours before coming home to pass out after an extremely long day.

Since Saturday was so busy I was up early on Sunday to get my errands done, but in the middle of all of that I got a text from my one brother, who wanted to come by to say hi with my sister, and another text from my other brother who said he was able to get some designer dresses - and specialty cupcakes - for me and our cousins from his company. Everyone ended up coming by throughout the day, but when Dominick came with the dresses we had a little fashion show and some quality time to catch up. I topped off Sunday Funday with two of my favorite TV shows and a walk with Buster to a festival going on by our house, where everyone commented on what an adorable dog he is :)

All in all, shopping, good food, romantic dinner with my hubby, family time with both sides, new clothes and other people seeing how special my doggie is. I definitely can't complain about this past weekend!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Bubbles!

My niece loves to come over for playdates and on her recent visit she wanted to blow bubbles, among her many requests. We started off with her blowing the bubbles but she seemed to be getting more of the mixture on the floor rather than actual bubbles in the air. To save the bubbles, and my carpet, I made it a fun game for me to blow them and for her to pop the bubbles before they hit the ground. It turns out she wasn't the only one who had a great time with this game. Buster did too! Although it was so cute to see them run around and jump in the air to pop the bubbles, this was definitely a first for our playful pooch.

In addition to bubble time, Buster enjoyed sharing in our snack time and had fun giving us kisses as we did some yoga moves. It's times like that which make me so confident that he'll be great whenever we have kids.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

My Love/Hate Relationship with Costco

Anyone who knows Rob knows he's a huge fan of Costco. It's actually embarrassing when you go around our house and look at how much stuff is from this warehouse superstore.

While I admit it has it's good points, which include great items at reasonable prices; always good about taking things back if you have a problem with them; the food is consistently fresh; and the fact that you can seriously eat a meal out of the samples they serve, there are a few things I really don't like about that store.

One of my main qualms is the way shoppers play bumper carts. I'm not sure if it's because they are in such a rush or they're afraid these "fabulous deals" will fly off the shelves, but most people have no consideration for you or your cart. A great example happened today when one woman hooked her cart on to mine and started taking it with her because she was in such a mad dash to get down the aisle. Bumper carts is even worse when it's the last few days for the coupons, and that's when I refuse to even step foot in the store.

Another issue is the check out line. It's absolutely crazy how long you can wait in line. They should really consider an express check-out like the supermarket. It would definitely save time for people who just go in for a few items.

I guess it's our own fault, but it's absolutely crazy how you can go in for one or two items and end up with a whole cart full of stuff you really didn't need. Considering it's just the two of us, it's comical how we end up buying so much in bulk... like the 40 pounds of bread flour to go with the bread maker which Rob "just had to have" because it was from his favorite store.

Oh, Costco.What would I do without you?

Friday, September 23, 2011

No More Drama on Real Housewives of NYC

Bravo TV annouced "The Real Housewives of New York City" is not inviting a few staple characters back on the show, including Alex McCord, Cindy Barshop, Jill Zarin and Kelly Killoren Bensimon. While I'm going to miss some of them I do think it's for the best since it has gotten very catty between several of these ladies, especially this last season.

On the final episode "Watch What Happens Live," Neal Patrick Harris said something and I couldn't have agreed with him more. Although I don't remember his words exactly, I believe it was along the lines of 'if you are a fan of NYC Housewives you should probably stop, because the drama is ridiculous.' Hopefully that's what Andy Cohen and the execs at Bravo needed to hear to wake up. While individually these women were pleasant and some of the storylines were good, together their relationships seemed toxic.

Fingers crossed they Bravo digs up some interesting characters for this next season!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Family First: Trip to the Drive-In

Relaxing together over the weekend is always important to us, but more so after having a few hectic weeks at work. After running a bunch of errands on Saturday we decided to do something different, and most importantly a place where Buster could join us for some quality time: The Warwick Drive-In.

This was the first drive-in for both of us and we had such a great experience. The people were very friendly, the weather was absolutely perfect, and it only cost us $8 per person for two movies - both of which were very recent. Most importantly, we got to bring our favorite puppy, who loved his first trip to the movies. He even got a dog treat when we arrived, which he gobbled right up.

While it was an hour away I think it was well worth the trip, especially since we got to see two movies that were on my list - Horrible Bosses and Contagion. All in all, it was a perfect night with my boys and was definitely a "family first" we'll remember.

Friday, September 16, 2011

A Nice Saying..

I recently got an email and the closing was so great I wanted to share:

Here’s hoping that your food’s healthy, your body’s active, your energy’s high and your attitude’s great!

Sure beats "best regards!"

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ten years later: 9-11

It's crazy to think that today is the 10 year anniversary of September 11. I think it's our generations equivalent of the JFK shooting or when they landed on the moon. You'll never be able to forget where you were or what you were doing when you heard the towers were struck.

Ten years ago today I was a freshman at St. Bonaventure. I went for a run at the track behind my dorm and remember thinking what a beautiful day it was. There wasn't a cloud in the perfectly blue sky. When I got back to my room I turned on the TV and got my stuff ready for a shower. That's when I saw it. The World Trade Centers were hit. I immediately thought about my family. My dad goes into the city often for work; our house was only 30 minutes from NYC; and I also had several extended family members who work in NYC - some in those buildings. Many phone call attempts wouldn't go through, and people were running up and down the hall screaming and running into each others room to watch the coverage. My neighbor, Nancy, came running into our room in tears. Her aunt works in that building but luckily just went on maternity leave that day. It was all so surreal. Our classes that day were cancelled and we all just watched the news and scoured the internet for updates.

I could only imaging how crazy 9-11 would be if Twitter were around back then. There would be tweets of love, fear, revenge. News would have traveled so fast.

It's unfortunate to think of how many people died on that fateful day, yet its amazing at how many lives were saved - whether people were traveling on business, caught the later train or bus, just decided to work from home or made it out of the towers okay.

9-11: Always remember. Never forget.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

So I'm not completely domestic

I have some work to do when it come to learning about laundry. I get the basics (hot for whites, colors for cold), but for some reason every once in a while I'll get spots on the clothes or the whites don't look completely white. So yesterday I decided to add a little bleach to the load I was doing - which was mostly whites except for our sheets, which are a light tan. I didn't think a splash of bleach would have this much of an effect but now our sheets are somewhat tie-die. When I told Rob, I prefaced it by saying I have good news and bad news. Good news, we have clean sheets. Bad news, they're now spotted.
At least its just the sheets - something only for our eyes - and nothing major or totally visible to guests.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Most Stressful Jobs

I enjoy what I do for a living but lately things have been very stressful as more projects come down the pipe and the deadlines get closer and closer together. I've seen the Most Stressful Job Rankings before but agree now more than ever that PR Execs have one of the most stressful jobs. This career choice came in #2, with pilots having the #1 most stressful job.

"2. Public Relations Executive

Stress score: 47.60

Hours per day: 9

Public relations executives are "completely at the mercy of their clients and buyers," says Tony Lee, noting that their success or failure depends on the actions and decisions of clients, creating a stressful situation because their performance is in many ways out of their hands.

They also bear the burden of being connected constantly to social media while also managing small details of several campaigns at once."

My husband also says that sales is a stressful job, which I agree, but I guess we'd have to walk a mile in each others shoes to understand the other's point of view.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Always sleep...

...with one eye open. -Buster
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